Application of SPME for Comprehensive Analysis of Aerosol Samples

Abstract

The importance of comprehensive investigation of aerosol samples relies on the fact that some portions of analytes can be adsorbed on the particles/droplets and for full characterization, study of particle/droplet-bound compounds as well as free, gas-phase ones is required. Among various microextraction techniques, needle-trap devices (NTD) have the capability of trapping particles/droplets and extracting gaseous compounds, simultaneously. However, the filtration efficiency of sorbent-packed NTD can be low which can be improved by adding a filter. In this chapter, the investigation of aerosol samples using filter-incorporated NTD is explained. The application of the device for the study of various aerosol samples such as breath composition, air pollution, and sprays is described. From the reported results from this area, it is shown that free and total concentrations of analytes can vary significantly, depending on the physicochemical properties of the analytes and characteristics of the sample. The results from critical aerosol samples (including breath samples and air pollution) revealed that less-volatile and polar compounds have higher tendencies to remain attached/adsorbed on the particles/droplets. It can be concluded that when only the gas-phase is studied in aerosol samples, a portion of analytes can remain hidden and their related information can be lost from results.